MILWAUKEE -- The woman's voice is hushed, but even in her whisper her terror is evident. In a barely audible voice she gives the 911 dispatcher the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin's address and pleads, "Hurry up, please."

The dispatcher already has fielded enough calls to surmise there's a shooter at the temple in suburban Milwaukee. She reassures the woman, "We've got help on the way. OK? OK? Ma'am?"

There's no reply.

The chilling exchange was among a series of 911 calls that flooded Milwaukee County's emergency services the morning of Aug. 5, when a white supremacist opened fire before a Sunday prayer service, killing six worshippers and wounding three others. Recordings of the calls were released Wednesday.

Sounds of apparent gunfire can be heard on some of the calls. On others, there are only several seconds of silence or muffled wails before the call get disconnected.

One of the earliest calls comes in about 10:25 a.m.

"There's a shooting," a man says frantically. A series of what sounds like gunshots can be heard in the background.

As the dispatcher tries to ask him whether anyone was hit, the man repeats, "There's a shooting. Shooting."

One woman reports she heard gunfire and that someone was shot. Another man calls and reports "many shooting, many gunfires."

At one point, with phones ringing nonstop, a dispatcher mutters, "Oh my god."

When the gunfire began in the parking lot, two children raced into the kitchen and warned people to take cover. The only hiding place was a small pantry that has has enough room for three to four people stand comfortably. With no other choice, 13 women, along with a man and the two kids, crammed inside for almost two hours.

One caller apparently was a woman who was hiding inside the temple. She told the dispatcher, "We need help, somebody shooting outside." The dispatcher asked if she had seen the shooter.

The woman replied, "I don't know, we have to hide now." The dispatcher told her police were on the scene and the woman said, "OK, thank you." She lowered her voice to a whisper and repeated, "Thank you."

One of the callers was a man who lived nearby.

"Yes, I need an ambulance," he said. "Guy came to my house, he's lying in my front yard bleeding."

Outside the temple, gunman Wade Michael Page also ambushed and shot and wounded a police officer who responded to the 911 calls. Page fatally shot himself in the head after being wounded by another officer.

FBI investigators say they're hoping to learn as much about Page's motive as they can, but acknowledge they may never know for certain why he chose to attack the temple.

Temple officials have since fixed most of the damage, repairing shattered windows and painting walls. But they left one dime-sized bullet hole unrepaired as a memorial to the victims.

A small gold plate below the hole is engraved with "We Are One. 8-5-12"

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Dinesh Ramde can be reached at dramde(at)ap.org.

Earlier on HuffPost:

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Sikh Temple Shooting Victims and Families

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In this undated combo photo composed of two images provided by the family, Indian Ranjit Singh, right, and Sita Singh who were killed in the shooting attack at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin are seen. The Indian born brothers were both killed in the shooting attack Sunday. (AP Photo)

Indian relatives of brothers Sita and Ranjit Singh who were killed in the shooting attack at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, look at family photos at the family home in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012.

In this undated family photo released Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012, Indian Ranjeet Singh, who was killed in the shooting attack at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, is shown. Singh, one of the victims of a shooting attack at a Sikh temple in the United States, never came home to India even once in 16 years, working at a grocery store during the week and volunteering at the Sikh gurdwara on weekends. He promised his family in India he was doing what had to be done to get a green card so they could come join him in the United States. (AP Photo/Ranjeet Singh family)

Indian Lokinder Kaur, third from right, mourns with her daughters Jasbir Kaur, 24, fourth from right, and Jaspreet Kaur, 21, second right, as they gather with other relatives at the family home in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012. Lokinder Kaur's husband Ranjeet Singh, one of the victims of a shooting attack at a Sikh temple in the United Staes, never came home to India even once in 16 years, working at a grocery store during the week and volunteering at the Sikh gurdwara on weekends. He promised his family in India he was doing what had to be done to get a green card so they could come join him in the United States. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

In this undated family photo released Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012, Indian Sita Singh, who was killed in the shooting attack at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, is seen. Singh was killed during the attack on Sunday alongside his brother Ranjeet Singh who he had recently joined in the United States. (AP Photo/Seeta Singh family)

Indian friends and relatives of Sita Singh who was killed in the shooting attack at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, visit the family home in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012. Singh was killed alongside his brother Ranjeet Singh who he had recently joined in the United States during the attack on Sunday. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

Indian Surinder Kaur, center, the wife of Sita Singh who was killed in the shooting attack at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, is comforted by her son Armeet and daughter Sarabjit, second right, at the family home in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012. Sita Singh was killed alongside his brother Ranjeet Singh who he had recently joined him in the United States during the attack on Sunday. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

Indian Surinder Kaur, center, the wife of Sia Singh who was killed in the shooting attack at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, is comforted by her son Armeet and daughter Sarabjit, right, at the family home in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012. Seeta Singh was killed alongside his brother Ranjeet Singh who he had recently joined in the United States during the attack on Sunday. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

Harinder Kaur Rakhra, left, sister of Satwant Singh Kaleka who was killed in the shooting attack at a Sikh temple in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, is consoled by Seema Sharma, a local politician in Patiala, India, Monday, Aug. 6, 2012